Current situation

There is a high risk of bluetongue type 8 spreading into the UK towards the end of summer 2016 if infected midges are carried by the wind from France to the south-east of England.

The exact level of risk depends on the level of disease in nearby areas of Europe, as well as the weather. You can get more information in the detailed assessment of the risk.

How to spot bluetongue

APHA will investigate if you report that you suspect a case of bluetongue. Along with the signs in this guide you can also get further details on the the clinical signs of bluetongue.

In sheep

In sheep the main signs of bluetongue are:

ulcers in the mouth

discharge of mucus and drooling from mouth and nose

swelling of the mouth, head and neck and the coronary band (where the skin of the leg meets the horn of the foot)

Other clinical signs include:

red skin as a result of blood collecting beneath the surface

fever

lameness

breathing problems

In cattle

Cattle are the main carriers of bluetongue. Infected cattle generally do not show any signs of the disease, but occasionally signs can include:

swelling and ulcers in the mouth

nasal discharge

red skin and eyes as a result of blood collecting beneath the surface

swollen teats

tiredness

Other animals rarely show signs of the disease.

How bluetongue is spread

Midges carry the bluetongue virus. The disease spreads when infected midges bite an animal affected by the disease. The midge season is normally March to September. The weather (especially temperature and wind direction) affects how the disease can spread.

Getting your animals vaccinated

If you’re considering whether to vaccinate your animals, you should speak to your vet about the benefits of vaccination. It can take up to 6 weeks for your animals to be fully immune as your animals must have 2 injections of the vaccine, 3 weeks apart.

Movement restrictions on animals or their germplasm in a bluetongue outbreak

There are currently no restricted zones for bluetongue in place for England, Scotland or Wales.

If there’s a bluetongue outbreak there’ll be restrictions on where you can move live ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats, deer or camlids) and germplasm (ovum, embryos or semen).

These restrictions affect farmed and zoo animals. The controls depend on which restricted zone or area your animals or their germplasm are in and where you’re moving them to (for example for slaughter at an abattoir or to market).

You may be able to move live ruminants or their germplasm out of or through a protection or surveillance zone under a specific or general licence following a veterinary risk assessment. A risk assessment is done on a case-by-case basis by APHA vets to assess the disease risk of moving animals and what needs to be done to avoid or minimise that risk.

Restricted zones

Restricted zones vary in size:

control zone - at least 20km around infected premises

protection zone - at least 100km around infected premises

surveillance zone - at least 150km around the infected premises

The ‘free area’ is the rest of England, Scotland and Wales that isn’t under movement restrictions. There are restrictions if you want to move your animals to and from a restricted zone for example for a show.

Control zone

You can’t move your ruminants between different premises within a control zone, to any other zones, or to the free area.

Protection zone

You can’t move animals to a premises in a control zone. You can move ruminants within the protection zone as long as there are no clinical signs of bluetongue on the day of transport.

You can move ruminants to a surveillance zone, if it passes a veterinary risk assessment, if they’re either:

for slaughter under licence at a designated abattoir - the Food Standards Agency will identify slaughterhouses to receive animals from a restricted area during any outbreak